


Sink My Teeth Into This Nightmare

by QueenBeeComplex



Series: FANGS - written order  (suggested) [1]
Category: Black Veil Brides
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Magic, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Magic, Prophetic Dreams, Prophetic Visions, Prophets, Vampire Sex, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 16:52:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16371443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenBeeComplex/pseuds/QueenBeeComplex
Summary: Andy and Ashley are both hiding secrets. What will those secrets mean for their relationship?





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story in my FANGS series but it is not the first chronologically. This series starts in the middle and will jump around from one story to the next.

"I don't understand why I can't just come with you," Andy whined, flopping down onto the bed he shared with his boyfriend.

Ashley just sighed and folded another shirt up into his suitcase. "Because my parents are, well, a little messed up," the bassist responded.

"Oh please. Everyone's got crazy family members. It's a fact of life. Babe, we've been together for two years. Why can't I meet your family? Seriously, give me one good reason. They know you're bi. They know we're in a rock band. They know we cuss like sailors. Why can't I meet them?"

"Because I said so!" Ashley shouted.

"What the fuck, Ashley? I'm your boyfriend, not your child!" Andy shouted back. "I deserve a decent answer."

Ashley sighed. "Look, you wouldn't understand my family. I don't want to subject you to that environment. They're toxic people, Andy. They'll drive you mad, and fast."

"But they're your family. And if this relationship continues there's a pretty high chance that one day they'll be my family, too. So just suck it up and let me meet them."

"Why is it so important for you?"

"Because," Andy started. He was quiet for a moment, avoiding Ashley's soul searching gaze. "Because I need to know that you're in this for real. I need to know that you're just as dedicated to this relationship as I am. That the reason you've been sneaking out at night isn't a blonde with big tits and a tramp stamp."

"Andy!" the bassist snapped.

"Take me. Let me meet your family. Prove to me that I'm the one you want and not some secret you're hiding in your closet."

"First of all, how'd you know I've been leaving at night?"

The singer shook his head. "Seriously, as long as you've known me and you really think I'm not gonna wake up in the middle of the night and realize you're not there. Please, Ashley. Don't even try to bullshit me like this."

"Oh, of course, now I'm the one being stupid, here."

"Yes, you are," Andy snapped.

"Well if it helps you sleep at night, I'm not sneaking out to cheat on you."

"Then why?" Andy demanded.

Ashely shook his head. "I can't...it's hard to explain."

"Well then start talking. I've got all the fucking time in the world." Andy motioned for his boyfriend to sit down, then crossed his arms over his chest.

Ashley turned his back on the singer in favor of rifling through the closet as if in search of something. "Look, Andy. There are things... Parts of this world I really... You wouldn't understand and I don't... It would put you in harms way if I... You just really shouldn't get mixed up in it."

"Stop being cryptic. Get your ass over here. And explain," Andy demanded, slowly but sternly.

Ashley let out a long, slow breath and came to sit on the opposite side of the bed from his boyfriend. "There's no easy way to put this. But before I start, I love you. Okay? And that's never, ever, going to change."

Andy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well...act like it."

"I'm trying," Ashley snapped, close to tears.

"Really? Because you're doing a shitty job at it!," Andy shouted back.

"This isn't easy, Andy. It's not some simple, understandable shit like I used to be suicidal or something. Because honestly, that would be a thousand times easier to explain."

"Well, what then?"

Ashley stood and turned his back to his boyfriend again. "I'm not exactly who - or rather what - you think I am."

"What?" Andy asked, incredulously.

"Well, I'm not...human."

Andy was quiet for a moment. "Okay, so what are you then? And leave out the details I know most of what's out there."

This time it was Ashley's turn to be surprised. "You know...what?"

"Creatures. Things that aren't human. I know about them. The Mystics and the Luminescents and the Destroyers and Mourners and the Vampires and the Angels and the demons and the underground cults and all of it. I know. So which are you?"

Ashley turned, gaping, back to his lover. "You...you know? But...how?"

Andy shrugged. "I read a lot. I mean, I assumed it was all fake for the longest time but...well things started to seem clearer." Lie, lie, lie, Andy thought. He wasn't exactly sure why he was lying about how he knew the things he knew, but he wasn't sure why Ashley had been doing the same about his identity for how long?

"So you're telling me you got the information out of some dusty old book?"

"Try an entire library of eighteenth century lore," Andy responded. "My sixth grade english teacher was a strange, strange man. A Mystic, actually. He let his more...advanced students read from his personal library. Of course, he taught it to us as if it were simple mythology. It wasn't until I ran into him again, years later, that I realized what he was, and that it was all real." Truth, truth, truth, lie, lie, lie, Andy added. He was keeping tally now.

Ashley continued to gape at his boyfriend. "Literally, what the fuck?"

Andy shrugged.

"No you don't understand that kind of shit doesn't happen. Texts like that are supposed to be locked up in vaults with hidden keys that only specific kinds of people can even have the ability to find," Ashley explained.

I knew that, Andy thought. "Whatever. That's beside the point. You have yet to answer my question. What are you?"

"Vampire," Ashley said, offhandedly. He began rummaging through the dresser and pulling some of Andy's clothes out. "Deviant high line, if you know-"

"I know what high lines are. Deviants are protectors."

Ashley's head snapped up to meet his boyfriends steady gaze. "How-?"

"Books. Lots and lots of books."

"Fair enough. So I guess I have to explain the sneaking out, still?"

Andy smirked and let out a breathy huff of not quite laughter. "Not really. You're a vampire so I'm assuming you were hunting. Can't be easy living with a human."

"Not so bad, actually," Ashley responded. "I've never particularly cared for human blood. It's a touch too bitter for me. Too...domesticated. I like carnivorous game animals. Bear is one of my favorites."

"Well, there, see? I've learned something new. I didn't know vampires could just not like human blood. I thought it was, you know, an instinctual thing. See human, smell human, taste human."

Ashley laughed. "What are we to you? The sharks from Nemo? 'Humans are friends, not food,'" Ashley chanted in a deepened voice before bursting into laughter.

Andy shot him a steady, no bullshit gaze. "Not funny."

"No, but seriously..." the vampire continued before bursting into laughter again. He finally sobered. "Seriously, though, my parents don't share my opinion on human blood."

"So that's why you don't want to take me. You're afraid I'll be lunch."

"Yes. But since you know what we are, there are ways to avoid that."

"...Like?" Andy asked.

"Well...what do you know about vampire mating rites?"

"Nothing. The books I read didn't have that information. There was a lot of family lore and who likes who and who wants to stake who and a lot of bullshit on arranged mating...but none on the mating process itself."

"Well...it's hard to explain but..."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Andy asked.

"That we be mated, yes." Ashley sat back down on the bed, this time closer to his boyfriend. "Andy, I've known since the day I met you that you were supposed to be my mate. It's a smell thing. I don't know how to explain it. I just...felt the need to drown myself in your scent."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "That's not weird," he said, sarcastically.

"Yeah, I know. But back to the point. You need to realize, before we go through with anything...this is sort of an eternity package. Once we're mated, you'll live as long as I live and unless I meet an untimely demise at the end of a wooden stake, that could be a really fucking long time."

"So, forever. Literally, forever?"

Ashley nodded. "I just want to make sure you're ready. I don't want to push you into anything."

Andy crawled across the bed and dropped his head into the bassist's lap. "You're sure?"

"Well, yes. I don't really know how to explain it. Just, when you walked into that practice room the day we met...I just knew. Literally, all I could smell was you. This mixture of grease paint and vanilla shampoo and cigarettes and fresh blood. I was overwhelmed. Without even realizing it, my breathing synced up to yours and our heartbeats even beat exactly the same. I could hear the blood rushing through your veins and air filling and leaving your lungs. I wasn't nervous. I was in shock."

"Oh," Andy breathed.

"What?" Ashley chuckled.

"That's just..." Andy shook his head.

"Bizarre, to you at least. It's normal to vampires. But then, I suppose we're raised to know the symptoms..."

"Of love?"

"Well, yes. And no. Love is one thing. But a compatible blood bond? That's a whole different situation. You can have a compatible blood bond without love. I've seen it happen. It's actually, scarily destructive. You read all the stuff on the arranged matings. They were blood compatible, sure. But the ones who didn't learn to love each other...like truly love each other? They tore apart entire high line families. There are several high lines that don't even exist today because of blood bonds with no love."

"But we have love, right?"

"I would assume so. I can't speak for you, but I know I love you more than life itself. I don't know if it's a result of the blood compatibility, the way I got to know you, or some combination of the two. It's possible that we're what the elders would call 'true mates,' but even that is..."

"Bizarre, to me at least." Andy mocked.

Ashley lightly smacked the singer's shoulder. "Adorable," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. The two laughed for a moment.

"Can I see?" Andy asked after a long moment of silence.

"See what?" Ashley inquired.

"Your fangs. Can I see?" The singer sat up, facing the older man.

Ashley chuckled, nervously. "You want to see my fangs?" he asked.

Andy just nodded.

"Well, it's a strange request. I guess so." He shrugged a bit. "Just, give me a minute. They're not quite on command. It's sort of a trigger thing."

Andy narrowed his eyebrows. "Uhm, okay?"

The bassist closed his eyes and took a long, slow, deep breath, inhaling his lover's scent. He focused all of his attention on the blood rushing through the singer's veins, the light thud-thud of his heartbeat. Slowly, his bloodlust grew, and his fangs extended with a faint 'click.' "Satisfied?" Ashley asked, smiling.

Andy's breath caught. "They're...sharp."

"You wanna find out just how sharp they are?" Ashley asked. His voice had dropped to a deep, seductive tone, but there was an edge to it that Andy was unfamiliar with.

"I..." He couldn't form words. He just sat and gaped at the vampire, eyes fixed on the sharp points of his fangs, unblinking.

Ashley leaned forward, slowly. There was a part of him that wanted to tear the human apart so he was whimpering and moaning and begging... The other part of him, the one not driven by bloodlust, was trying to hold back the demands...to be cautious. His lips lightly touched Andy's in a soft, almost chaste kiss.

Noting the familiarity of his lover's touch, Andy's fear subsided. He found himself kissing back, pressing his mouth hard to Ashley's. He distantly noted the soft scrape of sharp fangs on his lower lip as the kiss deepened, but there was no pain, nor the taste of blood. It was gentle, perhaps more so than the kisses they'd shared in the past.

"Do you want to?" Ashley asked, hot breath whispering over his boyfriend's lips.

Andy was silent, just staring into the bassist's caramel eyes.

"My fangs? Do you want to feel them?"

Andy nodded, slowly, unsure.

Ashley trailed his lips slowly down the human's neck. His hands wrapped tight around the younger man, pulling him close. The tips of his fangs lightly scraped against the soft skin of Andy's shoulder, making the younger man's breath catch in the back of his throat. Finally, Ashley bit down with slight pressure. His fangs pierced through the skin, sinking into flesh and muscle and raising a small pool of blood to the surface. Andy squeaked, first, at the pain, then quietly moaned just from the contact. Just as quickly as his fangs had sunk into the skin, Ashley pulled them out. He lapped at the wound until the bleeding stopped, then leaned away.

Andy looked dazed. "Whoa," he breathed. Blood was still dripping from Ashley's fangs and his lips were stained red from it.

"I'm...sorry..." The vampire pulled himself from Andy's embrace and retreated to the edge of the bed.

Andy crawled across the bed and into his boyfriend's lap. "Hey, it's okay." He nuzzled his face into Ashley's shoulder. "I didn't mind, really. Kinda liked it, to be honest."

"Get away!" Ashley growled. He shoved the singer off of his lap and curled up into a tight ball, fists clenched tight on the sides of his head. "I'm not safe for you to be near."

Andy sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, and placed a hand on his lover's knee. "It's okay. I trust you."

"I don't trust myself right now."

Andy was back in Ashley's bubble of space, climbing behind him and wrapping arms around the vampire. "I've got you."

"It's not supposed to work that way, Andy. I'm supposed to have you."

Andy laughed. "It works both ways. Now is there anything you need?"

"I need you to get away from me before I lose control," Ashley muttered through clenched teeth.

"No. I'm staying right here until you tell me what you really need. I'm not leaving your side."

Ashley shuddered. "Andy, I'm not fucking around. Get. Away."

Andy sighed in surrender. He extracted himself from between Ashley and the pillows, and returned to the corner of the bed directly opposite his lover. "Now, what do you need?"

"Blood. I need blood. And yours is so..."

"Blood, got it." Andy stood and reached for his phone from the night stand. There was silence in the room except for the tapping of Andy's fingers on the keyboard of his phone.

"Andy, what are you doing?" Ashely asked.

"Texting Sandra. She says she has cougar and elk, which do you prefer?"

"Why...how the hell did you know Sandra's a vampire?"

"She's your cousin, right? I'm not stupid. Clearly if she's related to you then she's also Deviant, am I correct?"

"No. She's my cousin on my mom's side. Orion high line." Ashley adjusted a bit, his muscles loosening.

"Orions are hunters, right?"

"Yes. And Sandra's quite a talented one, despite being half blood."

"Are you calm? Or, well...calmer?" Andy asked.

Ashley nodded, hesitantly.

The human crawled back over, curling his head into his boyfriend's lap once again. "Cougar or elk? Sandra wants to know, now."

"Cougar."

They were silent a moment as Andy responded. "What was that you were saying earlier? About my blood?"

"So good," Ashley breathed.

"I thought you didn't like human."

"I usually don't. But I like you. Oh, fuck, you tasted so good." Ashley's breathing sped up a bit.

"Tasted good like a decent meal or tasted good like a gourmet chocolate cake?"

"Good like fine wine or apple cider moonshine. Intoxicating and alarming and..." Ashley trailed off, but his body was speaking for him now. Andy could feel a growing erection in the vampires hello kitty pajama pants.

"Oh." Andy rolled over so he could nestle his face into his boyfriend's crotch.

"Mmh, Andy," Ashely moaned. His fangs were still out and every sense was on high alert.

"So do vampires just naturally come with a blood kink or am I special?" Andy asked, lightly pawing at the growing bulge.

"Little bit of both?" Ashley squeaked.

Andy worked a bit more intentionally, starting to pull at the elastic waste band of Ashely's pants. "Oh? Do explain."

The vampire was short of breath, horny, and hungry, and his boyfriend wanted explanations? "Well...Vampire mating, right?" His breath hitched. "Well, it's sort of a blood thing. They-" A squeak. "They have to drink each other's blood. It's sort of a-" A low moan. "Sort of a magic thing. They get each other's blood flow-" He gave in, fisting his hands in Andy's hair and groaning, low and loud in the back of his throat. "They get each other's blood flowing through their veins and become one," Ashley breathed, quickly. He pulled Andy up into his lap and kissed him, hard. He was still cautious with his fangs, making sure not to cut up his boyfriend's mouth. But he still kissed with that force that made Andy feel as if he could fly.

"Magic blood sex, got it," Andy responded, harshly as he pawed at his boyfriend's waistline. Kisses got sloppy, trailing down necks and away from mouths.

"It's more complicated than-" Ashley tried to argue. Andy's mouth latched onto a nipple. "Oh fuck it." He pushed the singer back onto the bed and climbed on top, grabbing the elastic of Andy's plaid boxers and jerking them down to his ankles.

"Fuck, yes Ashley," Andy groaned, bucking his hips up, slightly. The sheer lust of the moment had driven all thoughts of Ashley's freak out from both of their minds.

But Ashley still needed blood. He shoved the thoughts of biting into Andy's soft, pale flesh aside. Instead, he teased at the singer's nipples with his mouth and one hand, while the other hand worked his dick to hardness. The little moans and whimpers he received in response were enough to drive anyone crazy.

"Oh, yes. Fuck, Ashes, need you." Andy was already squirming. Ashley was teasing his nipples in that way that could make him cum, even without the hand fisted around his dick.

"What do you need?" The Deviant growled. The smell of Andy's blood rushing south and the sound of his heavy breathing was teasing at the vampire, threatening to break through what little of his willpower was holding him back from devouring the human.

"Your mouth, please," Andy managed to beg between breaths. "Want your mouth on my cock."

Ashley was so far gone there was no means of saying no. His kisses trailed further down, leaving hickeys across the skin and reveling in the almost-taste of blood as it pooled beneath the surface of the skin. He could even hear the blood vessels pop from the harsh sucking.

"Ashley, please," Andy groaned again. Hands were fisted in the older man's hair, pushing his face down, closer to his lover's groin.

The bassist gave in, tongue flicking over the tip of Andy's already leaking cock before wrapping his mouth around the head. He dropped all the way down until his bottom lip quivered against the singer's balls and his dick hit the back of Ashley's throat. Then Andy was guiding, both hands in the vampire's hair pushing and pulling Ashley's head up and down.

"Hey, Ash. I brought that-" Sandra's voice came from the hall, but she was cut off when she saw what was happening.

Ashley pulled his head from Andy's groin. "Downstairs." He ordered. Sandra took that to mean for her to go, and she did. A few moments later, the vampire could smell and hear the blood being warmed to body temperature on the stove.

"C'mon babe, finish me," Andy insisted. He nudged Ashley's chin with his thigh, redirecting the older man's attention.

The bassist returned to his lover's cock, teasing his tongue just under the head in a way he knew drove him absolutely insane. He wrapped his hands tighter around the singer's thighs, pulling him closer as he licked a stripe up the underside of his cock. Then he dropped his head back down to suck and lick at the skin, bobbing his head up and down.

Andy's back arched, and his hands left the bassist's hair in favor of clenching at the bedspread. He moaned and whimpered, hips rocking, slightly, to the same rhythm of Ashley's mouth up and down his cock. Even worse, he was begging. "Ash, please, yes," and "just like that," were laced with deep moans when his lover hummed, cock deep in his throat, and whimpers when the head was licked and the tip prodded.

Ashley was going insane. His fangs were still out, and he was doing all he could to keep them from even touching the singer's sensitive cock. The younger man was getting to him, though. Ashley found himself grinding into the edge of the bed just for some friction.

The singer's muscles began to flutter. Knowing what was next, Ashley pinned his boyfriend's hips to the bed and sunk his head down all the way, swallowing around the head before rising up to the tip one last time. Andy's hands fisted back in Ashley's hair, and he sat up off the bed, curling around his lover's head and shoulders as he released. He didn't even bother to hold back the loud moan of ecstasy that resulted.

Ashley swallowed all his boyfriend had to give, and seconds later, his cum splattered the bedspread and floor. Andy was still whimpering little comments of "fuck," and "yes," as he flopped back against the sheets. The vampire untangled himself from the younger man's grasp and bolted downstairs.

"Ash?" Andy inquired. He took a bit more time getting up off the bed, pulling his - well Ashley's boxers back on, and slowly trailed his way down the stairs.

"Slow down. You'll make yourself sick," Sandra chastised. Ashley had his black "don't talk to me" mug turned almost upside down as he gulped down the contents.

"More," he gasped, slamming the mug onto the counter.

"No. Digest that first," Sandra ordered, placing one hand over the top of the mug and the other on Ashley's chest.

"Andy's right there. I don't wanna-"

Sandra glanced over Ashley's shoulder to see the singer slowly descending the stairs. "You can't even see...no way...you didn't..."

Ashley only nodded.

"FUCK!" Sandra hissed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't-"

"Yeah, I know. Here. Just..." She poured a thick, crimson liquid into Ashley's mug and pressed it into his hand.

Ashley instantly pulled it to his mouth, sloshing a bit out onto his hand. He gulped all of the liquid down in a matter of seconds, then lapped the rest up from where it had spilled across his knuckles.

"Sit," Sandra ordered, pushing down on Ashley's shoulder. The Deviant responded, instantly, dropping to the ground.

"Andy, come here."

"No-" Ashley tried to protest. But Sandra shot him a steady glare that clearly read "don't argue with me."

"It's alright. He won't hurt you. I won't let him," Sandra insisted.

"I know," Andy said. "I'm not scared because I think he'll hurt me. The fear you smell on me is...well I don't wanna lose him."

"How do you know this shit?" Sandra asked.

"Explain later," Andy responded, shrugging the drummer's hand from his shoulder. He crouched down to Ashley's level and held his hand out. "Is it okay if I-?"

Ashley nodded, slightly, and Andy's hand settled on his knee. He gently stroked his hand up and down the bassist's thigh in an attempt to soothe the panic. "That felt really good, you know?" Andy babbled.

"What?" Ashley breathed. "I give you blow jobs all the time, that was nothing."

"No. The bite. Feeling your fangs in my skin. Sure, it kinda stung, but it felt..."

"It felt like fire in your gut. Felt like a thousand needles prickling across your skin," Sandra interrupted. "It was like a hot spring in the middle of a blizzard or a pool of ice water on the hottest day of summer in Florida."

"That's...exactly what it..." Andy couldn't form sentences.

"I'm calling your mother," Sandra said to Ashley, reaching for her phone from where she set it on the counter.

"No. Please, you know how my parents will feel about this," Ashley responded.

"Well they can get the fuck over it. You're-"

"True mates. Yeah. I know. I've known since I met him. I'm taking him to the reunion tomorrow and we'll be mated officially before the elders. Now put the phone away. I'll deal with my mother myself."


	2. Part 2

"So this is where you grew up?" Andy asked, pausing at the steps of a white victorian style house.

"Yep," Ashley responded. "Well, the whole neighborhood, but yes."

"Neighborhood? Ashley, we're in the middle of the woods," Andy pointed out.

"No. The woods are in the middle of the neighborhood. Vampires build entire communities within the boundaries of wooded areas. Plenty of nearby hunting, plenty of privacy from each other, plenty of isolation from humans and even other vampire high lines. Welcome to Deviant territory."

Andy gulped. "Well, shall we?"

Ashley looped his arm in his boyfriend's and they proceeded together up the stairs.

"Ashley, is that you?" A woman's voice called from somewhere in the house.

The bassist let out and audible sigh. "Yes, Mama," he called back with an eye roll.

"Oh, and you brought lunch. How sweet of you," she said, rounding the corner and hanging a dish rag over her shoulder.

"Yeah, not exactly." Ashley responded. He reached over and clamped a hand on the singer's wrist, pushing him just the slightest bit backwards.

"Don't be silly, Ashley. Sure, he's skinny, but there's plenty blood to go around." Ashley's mom leaned forward, deeply inhaling the human's scent. "Wait, a minute. Why does he smell like you?"

"Mama...Andy's not food."

"You're being stupid, again, Ashley."

"No, you're not listening, Mama. Pins and needles. I bit him and we both felt pins and needles."

Ashley now had his mother's attention. "That's not possible, Ashley," she insisted with a confused smile. "Humans can't be true mates to Vampires. It just doesn't happen."

"No, it happens quite frequently. You pureblood, high line stuck-ups just refuse to acknowledge the bondings."

"You're just as much pureblood as we are, Ashley," a deep voice responded. Andy glanced up to see a tall man with dark hair leaning over the edge of the stairs.

"Yes, but unlike you, Papa, I don't drain humans," Ashley bit back.

"You clearly intended to do so. You say you bit him?"

"It was nothing like that," Andy interrupted. "It was my fault, really. When he told me he was a vampire I wanted to see his fangs. I should have known better, as much as I've read about vampires but the idea of fangs was so...exciting."

"Andy-" Ashley said, warningly. He placed a protective hand on the human's shoulder.

"I didn't realize the trigger for the fangs to come out would send him into blood frenzy," Andy continued as if his boyfriend hadn't said a word. "He turned...animalistic. And, hell, I loved it. He bit my shoulder, here." He pulled the edge of his shirt off his shoulder to reveal the now scarred over fang marks. "And I swear I just lit up. This was followed by probably the best blow job I've had in my life, then Ashley gulping down at least a gallon of cougar blood that Sandra brought over."

"Best blow job in your life, hmm?" Ashley whispered.

"You're hot when you're desperate," Andy whispered back, biting at the corner of his mouth to try and hold back a smile.

"You've...what?" Ashley's father demanded.

"Look, I've been with Andy for just over two years. Your bigotry isn't going to change the fact that I love him and that we're true mates. If you're going to have a problem with it, I'll take my mate and go stay with Aunt Leslie."

"That's really not necessary," Ashley's mom insisted. "Honestly I'm sure we can make some, er, arrangements."

"Absolutely not," his dad argued. "Margie, you know how I feel about keeping livestock in the house."

Ashley rolled his eyes. "That's it. Babe, come on. I'm not putting you in danger."

"Ashley Abrocket Purdy, get your ass back in this house right now," his mother ordered.

"No. I'm not going to stand by and let my mate take this abuse. I'm going somewhere I know I won't wake up with him slaughtered next to me." The bassist reached over, grabbed Andy's wrist, and pulled him to the car.

"The hell was that all about?" Andy demanded.

"What are Deviants?"

"Protectors?"

"Exactly. I'm taking you somewhere safe."

Andy just sighed and rolled his eyes, slamming the car door shut as he got in.

"So, your aunt Leslie? You think she'll be any better?"  
"Definitely," Ashley responded. "She's mated to a human."

"Oh," was Andy's only response.

It was only a short drive through the woods on a dirt road to get to Ashely's aunts' house. Just like his parents, the women lived in a three story, white victorian house.

"So is there just one floor plan for this whole 'neighborhood' or what?" Andy asked as they pulled into the driveway.

The bassist laughed. "Not exactly. There are a number of different types of houses around here, but the victorian are some of the original vampire houses built in the area. Typically, how it goes is when a couple mates, they're given the choice of the vacant houses, or the chance to build their own home within the territory."

"Why are the houses vacant," Andy asked.

Ashley laughed. "Could be a number of reasons. In the older houses, it's most often that the original couple died. Vampires don't live forever. Just a really fucking long time. We do eventually get old and die. Others have gone out in several vampire civil wars. I'm sure you've read about at least a few of those. Then, of course, there's those who have immigrated to other countries, either for work or just because."

"Would we get a house?" The human nibbled on his fingernails, trying to avoid eye contact. Andy most definitely didn't want to move. Not now, anyways.

"Well, it would be offered. I'd leave it up to you, though. I'm not going to make you move to a place where half the surrounding population wants to have you for lunch. Eventually, though, it will be necessary."

Andy just raised his eyebrow at his mate. "Necessary?"

"When we have kids. There are certain processes that take place that we'll need a vampire house for."

The singer blinked at his boyfriend. "Ashley, you know I don't want kids."

"Well, sorry to break it to you but that's not really up to either of us."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Ashley rolled his eyes. "Look, let's just go inside. We don't have the time for this conversation right now. And besides, we've been sitting in the driveway for far too long."

"Fine," Andy responded, starting to get out of his boyfriend's red mustang. "But don't think you're getting out of this conversation."

"Of course not, love," Ashley responded with a wink.

The two collected their luggage and headed for the door, which was already held open by a tall blonde woman with thighs Wonder Woman would be jealous of.

"Hey, Aunt Leslie," Ashley said, softly. He kissed his aunt on the cheek as he entered.

"Hey, kiddo. And who's this? Your boyfriend, I'm assuming?"

"How'd you know?" Andy demanded.

"Well, for starters, Ashley never brings humans around. Not all of us are quite so, er, understanding of others' ability to bond with anyone who's not a vampire. Second, you smell like him."

"Right," the singer sighed.

Ashley laughed and took one of his boyfriend's bags. "Andy's not quite used to how open vampires are about some things."

"Leslie, who's there?" another voice called. A shorter woman with bronze skin and curly black hair rounded the corner. "Oh. Ashley. Hello there."

"Hey, Aunt Janet. This is my boyfriend, Andy. Well, boyfriend for now."

"Oh so that's why you brought him along," Leslie said to Ashley while her mate extended a hand and offered a "hello."

"Yeah. We're going to be mated. Figured now is as good a time as any. To be honest, I should have done it two years ago."  
"Oh, wow. You've been together for two years and just now you decide to form an official bond?" Janet asked. She tilted her head to the side, making her curls bounce off her shoulders.

"Well how long were you two together before you found out what she was?" Andy's voice had a note of bitterness.

"Oh, I knew before we started seeing each other. It's sort of how we ended up together, really."

Andy turned towards his boyfriend and raised an eyebrow.

"When did you find out?" Leslie asked.

"Last night," Andy responded. He grabbed his bags and started up the stairs.

"Andy," Ashley protested. "One moment." He grabbed the rest of the luggage and followed his boyfriend up the stairs. "Baby, can we please talk about this?"

The singer didn't answer.

"The guest bedroom's the second door to the left. Blue bedspread," Janet called up the stairs after them.

Andy slammed the door open and threw his bags onto the bed. "I just don't understand why you couldn't have told me from the start," he shouted.

"Because I had just gotten you and it still didn't seem...complete. I felt like I could still lose you at any second. You were straight when we met. Hell, so was I. And I didn't know if we would wake up one morning and you would decide that being gay wasn't your thing and leave me. I wasn't going to throw some new information at you that would risk that." The bassist had started crying a few sentences in.

"Ashley, after you...we...you know...well I wasn't about to leave you."

"Oh, please, Andy. Sex is sex to you."

"But sex with you, especially that first time, was so, so much more. And every time we've had sex since then hasn't just been sex. In fact, it's never just going to be sex with you, Ashely. And that's why I'm never going to leave."

"Well do you want it to just be sex? That can be arranged."

"No, Ashely. It can't. Because it's you. And you're stupid to have thought that ANYTHING could take me away from you. Which is why I still can't fucking wrap my head around why you wouldn't tell me that you're a vampire. I don't even know where you got the idea that that would scare me off?"

"Andy. You saw what happened last night after I bit you."

"Yeah, and I want you to bite me again tonight because I swear you may have been great in bed before but, Ashley, there's so much more passion in you that I didn't see until last night. It's like you've been holding back a whole part of you that I'm just now getting the chance to know and it's not fair. I've been sleeping next to you for two years and I just now get to know who you are?"

"Baby, you don't understand. It was all I could do not to hurt you right then. I needed blood and yours was right there and I could...I could have killed you."

"I don't think so." The singer shook his head. "You couldn't hurt me if you wanted to."

"You're overestimating my self control. The vampire in me..." Ashley sat down on the edge of the bed, shaking his head. "Vampires are wild animals. We're like wolves. We're not tame creatures. And a lot of times, especially where a mate is concerned, we're impossible to control. And if I thought last night was bad, that first time we had sex when I practically jumped you on the bus, it was all I could do to keep myself under control and not bite you. I knew then that if I bit you it would be impossible to stop myself. The only things holding me back last night were the fact that I'm used to your smell and the fact that I knew Sandra was right downstairs with blood."

Andy crossed the room and climbed straddle his boyfriend's lap. He lifted the vampire's face to meet his eyes with two fingers under his chin. "You may not agree, but I don't believe you could do any harm to me."

"It's not that simple," Ashley protested, eyes glancing down.

"Hey, hey. Yes it is. You're a Deviant, right? So no matter what, I know you'll never let anything happen to me. It's in your DNA to protect me."

"But, Andy..." Ashley's eyes cast down again and his hands fidgeted in his lap. "Sometimes that includes protecting you from myself."

Andy shook his head. "No."

"Andy-"

"No," Andy said softly, again. "I trust you, Ashley. I will always trust you."

"I don't trust myself."

"But I trust you. You're not going to hurt me," Andy whispered, his lips lightly brushing the bassists.

"Andy-"

"You won't. I promise." The singer pressed his lips to Ashley's, kissing him slowly so as to savor the moment. The kiss deepened, tongues sliding hot and wet and sweet against each other. Ashley's hands instinctively lifted up to wrap around his boyfriend's hips, while the singer tangled one hand in Ashley's hair and rested the other arm straight out off of his shoulder.

The kiss deepened even more, the two grasping, pulling each other closer, tighter. Light moans escaped from both mens' throats, and Ashley heard his boyfriend's heart rate increase. Without the vampire noticing, his fangs clicked out.

Andy felt the light, still unfamiliar scrape of his boyfriend's fangs on his tongue. Letting out a low groan, he threw all his weight into Ashley's arms, pushing them both backwards onto the bed. Limbs tangled and the kiss deepened even more to the point Andy wondered why he ever needed to breathe anyway.

The singer finally pulled away, lightly biting at Ashley's lower lip. "See? Everything's okay," he whispered, resting their foreheads together.

"Yeah," Ashley responded, slightly breathless with a nervous smile on his face.

"Now," Andy started, sitting up. "Your aunts are downstairs waiting for us to come be decent company."

Ashley laughed a bit. "Yeah, let's go." It was with the pronunciation of the "L" that the bassist realized his fangs were extended. His eyes widened in a state of panic.

"You okay?" Andy demanded when he felt Ashley release his hand.

"I didn't bite you, did I?" Ashley asked with a hoarse, horrified voice.

Andy turned, hand on his hip, and flashed his signature smirk. "Don't you think you would have tasted blood?"

"I-"

"No. You didn't bite me." The singer closed the gap between himself and his boyfriend. Rubbing Ashley's arms reassuringly, he leaned in and pressed a light, chaste kiss to his lips. "It's okay. I told you. You see? You kissed me, and your fangs came out and you didn't even notice. You're not going to hurt me."

"Yeah," Ashley said. "Yeah, you're right. Come on. Let's go downstairs." The vampire wrapped his arm around Andy's hips and led him down the stairs.

"You two all sorted out?" Leslie asked as the couple came into view.

"Uhm, yeah," Ashley responded.

"Alright, well come sit down. Can we get you anything?" The blonde had stood, untangling herself from the large recliner where she had been cuddling her mate.

Andy flopped onto the couch, pulling his boyfriend down on top of him and making them both burst into laughter.

"Bring him some blood, please," Andy managed to get out between giggles.

Leslie raised her eyebrow, but said nothing as she disappeared into the kitchen. "Anything for you, Andy?" She called over her shoulder.

"You know what, I'll handle it. Do you like tea?" Janet interrupted.

"Uhm, sure?"

"Any preference?"

"Surprise me," Andy responded.

The boys got themselves comfortable on the couch, Andy crawling into his boyfriend's lap.

"God, I love you," Ashley said, a stupid grin on his face as he cuddled the younger man close.

"I love you too, Ashes," Andy responded. He leaned upwards a bit to peck Ashley on the cheek.

"Alright, you two. Ash, here's your blood. You're favorite is black bear, right?"

The bassist's eyes lit up. "You remembered!"

"Of course I remembered. Oh, and remind me sometime this weekend...Janet and I went on a trip up to the North Pole and brought back some polar bear and leopard seal I think you might wanna try."

Ashley smiled and nodded. "I'll be sure to remember." Turning his attention to the man laying across him, Ashley lightly smacked his boyfriend's hip. "Move, I really don't want to spill blood on you."

Andy giggled a bit and sat up just in time for Ashley's other aunt to pass him a steaming mug of tea. "It smells delightful," Andy said, inhaling the rich herbal steam.

"Peach rhubarb and then there's a bunch of other stuff in there that's not important. I dabble in herbal remedies, so everything in there is fresh out of my garden out back." A permanent smile was plastered across the raven haired woman's face and her curls bounced with every enthusiastic wave of her hands.

"The way you two take care of me it really is a shame you can't form," Ashley commented, taking a slow sip from the Hello Kitty mug his aunts always kept around just for him.

"Form?" Andy whispered under his breath as he racked his brain for the term. He couldn't place it.

"Uhm, it's how Vampires reproduce," Leslie said, softly.

Andy's eyebrow raised, pointedly, as he looked to Ashley.

The older man sighed and sat up a bit more, leaning in so he could better address his boyfriend. "You see, Vampires don't reproduce like humans do," Ashley started. "It's sort of this, well, somewhat complicated process. What I was talking about in the car earlier. A Vampire couple doesn't get much of an option. You see, there are two bonds holding together a Vampire couple, ideally. There's the official blood bond, which is both legally and mortally binding. Then there's the love bond, which is formed by the members of the bond over time. What happens is, when the love bond is stronger than the blood bond, the couple is blessed with a child, which takes a total of a year to completely form. That's why we'll have to, eventually, move into a Vampire house. There's a special layout. In the master bedroom, the two closets are always built together with a space between the two hidden by a trap door, called a forming chamber. That's where the child remains until it is completely formed."

Andy slowly sipped his tea, trying to process the information, and take notes to do more research when he got back and had a chance to harass Jinxx for access to his library.

"Janet and I can't form. She was in the Marines, and had to go overseas for the Korean war. She missed our anniversary three times, twice in a row. Vampires have to renew their bond annually, and we were unable to. Our blood bond is a little...worse for wear. Because of it, we can't form, no matter how much we love each other."

Andy was quiet for a long moment, sipping his tea from the Harley Davison mug. He slowly turned his head to face Ashley again. "So we don't get a choice in the matter," Andy said, pursing his lips.

Ashley finished the last bit of blood in his mug and set it on the table. "No. We don't. No one does. That's just the reality of Vampire mating. The reasons why I kept putting this off just keep going up."

The singer turned his attention back to his mug of tea. He didn't really have much of a comment. Just a lot of anxiety over everything that was happening so fast. He took long, slow sips in an attempt to calm himself.

"So, uhm...tell us how you two met," Janet said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Ashley smiled a bit. "You wanna start, love? You know more of the back story than me."

"Well, Sandra was our drummer at the time. It was just me, her, and these two other guys I went to high school with. They broke off and moved on to do their own stuff, so now we're stuck with a singer, a drummer, and no guitarists. Sandra and I are on the phone like mad men trying to find someone who can play and play well. Finally, Sandra just comes to me and is like 'You know, my cousin is a bassist.' and I just look at her like 'bitch you coulda told me like three weeks ago.' So she calls Ashley up and arranges for us to meet up at my uncle's bar."

"So I get there, right?" Ashley cut in. "And I'm just chilling in the bar up on the stage with my plain black bass which was the only one I had at the time and Sandra's sitting at the bar with a bottle of Jack bitching about Andy 'being late, as usual.' I'm just trying not to be too nervous about this since I'd been out of the music scene several months after LA Guns fell apart. Then Andy walks in and suddenly I'm totally fucked. I tried to play it off as nerves. You know, this could be a make-it or break-it thing. In reality I was spiraling. His smell hit me in just this wave and my heart-rate rocketed and I was having a hard time keeping my fangs in. In fact, I didn't keep them in. I ended up having to purse my lips through the whole performance - which is uncharacteristic of me - just to keep from revealing them."

"Right, so he got the part. I was completely blown away by his bass playing. I was determined to build a band around his playing style if I had to. And Sandra all but drags him away. I'm sitting there like what the fuck is going on."

"Sandra was freaking out because she knew what was going on. Of course, I'm denying it. I was straight. I didn't even know him. I wasn't going to even begin considering him as a mate."

Leslie and Janet were glancing back and forth between the two. "I can't believe you're not mated yet. Your chemistry is through the roof," Janet commented.

"Yeah, it's kind of a product of living on a bus together for four years," Ashley said.

"What about you two?" Andy inquired.

"That's, uhm...rather complicated," Janet started, turning to her partner for help.

"A lot of pure bloods, at least the ones who don't have their noses in the air, will habitually make friends with humans. It's sort of a symbiotic relationship, especially with Deviants. The human gets constant protection and the vampire gets a consensual blood source. We'd been friends for quite a while when I finally approached her and revealed, you know, that I'm a vampire. We talked for several hours before I even asked if I could bite her."

"I was just kinda like 'I guess,' I mean, I didn't have much of an opinion. So I let her. And then, well...you both know what happened."

Andy's eyes were lit up like stars. The singer always turned into a child when it came to story telling. Ashley always thought it amusing.

"I think my little mate likes your story," Ashley commented with a smile.

"I dunno, it's just kinda cute and different. Our story is love at first sight for you and I just kinda got sucked down the rabbit hole of your charm until you finally jumped me."

Ashley chuckled a bit. "Yeah, sure babe." He was starting to feel sick, head spinning and stomach sloshing.

Leslie tilted her head to the side. "Ash? When was the last time you purged?"

Ashley rubbed his eyes, doubled over to try and keep himself steady. "Uhm, Andy and I fucked around in the car when we got to my parents'."

"And since then you've had to defend your mate from your parents and had an argument with him. Go. Upstairs." Leslie waved her hand toward the staircase, shooing the couple away.


	3. Part 3

I swear to God if we walk past one more door where we can HEAR the vampires fucking inside, I'm going to punch something," Andy huffed.

Ashley laughed. "Come on. Come, baby. Over here to the bar." The vampire was practically dragging his boyfriend into a brightly lit room. "Sit down. Let me explain some things to you." Ashley pushed the singer into a bar stool and motioned for his cousin to pass over two beers.

"Ash..." Andy protested at being shoved around.

"Shut up, drink, and listen. I know this is all new to you. You probably feel extremely out of place. I understand. But I need you to adjust, fast, before one of the older high lines decides to be personally offended by your confusion."

"I- okay."

"Now, I know I keep saying this, but it's important. Vampires are extremely sexual creatures. Sex isn't just for getting off. For a bonded pair, sex is used to create, strengthen, and re-establish their bond. It's also used for safety purposes. No one wants to mess with a vampire's mate, especially not a Deviant's mate. It's almost like marking our territory. Having sex is the quickest, easiest, most efficient way to put a big red flag up that says 'if you hurt this person, you die.' Then, of course, as you discovered earlier, sex - specifically orgasm - is a quick way of flushing out toxins that build up in a vampire's body from high stress or dangerous situations. This is a family reunion, Andy. You know how stressful family can be. Add in the fact that half the people here legitimately want to kill each other, and you can see why regular purging is necessary. Then there's the couples around my age who've been mated for several years. They're just now beginning to form, and a huge part of forming is sex. The more sex a couple has, the more time they spend together, the more they do for each other, the stronger their child will be. Of course, the other side of that is if a couple is separated for long periods of time during the forming process, or fight a lot, their child is weaker. Sex is sort of necessary for Vampires. It's a part of our culture. Believe me, you'll understand after tonight."

Andy was silent, slowly sipping his beer. "Ash, are we really gonna be like that?"

The bassist burst into giggles. "Baby, we already are. I mean come on. The way we are on tour, blow jobs after shows, fucking in the dressing room between sound check and a concert. How many times have the guys caught us fucking around between the busses? We already fuck constantly, but we'll have more reason and meaning behind it."

"Sure..." Andy said, trailing off.

"Look, there's only another hour to this madness before the council opens. Let's enjoy the company of those around us."

Andy gave his boyfriend a sideways look. "Enjoy. Company."

"Come on, they're not all bad. They're also not all vampires. In fact, most of my generation has actually mated humans."

"Right, because what I need is to be surrounded by humans who look like they're my age but could actually be my grandmother," Andy snarked as he stood and started to walk away.

Ashley grabbed his boyfriend by the hips from behind, pulling him tight between his legs and nipping playfully at his ear. "You sass me, you pay," the vampire teased, hands trailing down Andy's thighs.

"Mmh, fine. Let's just go." Andy was struggling to keep his head on straight, reminding himself constantly that he had to wait just one more hour.

So Andy had to admit it; Ashley's cousins were honestly not that bad. There were a few couples who couldn't go for several seconds without physically touching each other in some way. The human couldn't help but point it out.

"They're forming," Ashley responded with a shrug.

"Oh."

"Some of them will start excusing themselves to go fuck here in a few minutes. And, yes, we'll be like that when we start forming."

Andy let out an audible groan, only to be lightly smacked on the ass by his mate. "Sure, act like you won't like it," the vampire teased with a light nip at the shell of his ear.

Andy tried to laugh it off and pay attention to the conversation around him, but it was all but impossible. The little human couldn't stop thinking about how in a matter of forty-five minutes he would be permanently bound to Ashley for eternity.

Ashley led his boyfriend down a dark stairwell to the basement of the house they'd been in, then through another door into downward sloping tunnels with three stairs and a door to the right at regular intervals. The tunnels or hallways or whatever they were - stone - were also curved slightly to the right, Andy noticed.

"You nervous?" Ashley asked.

"Simultaneously excited and terrified. But sure, let's call it 'nervous,'" Andy snarked.

"Hey, hey," the vampire started, turning to face Andy and take both his hands. "What is it that scares you, love?"

"Just...it's all happening so fast. I mean, I want it but..."

"Shh, shh. Tell me what you need."

Andy shook his head. "Bite me."

"I-"

"Just bite me. Seriously, right here on the shoulder. Help clear my head so I'm thinking about you and ignoring all the other shit going on in my head."

Ashley huffed. "Okay, fine. Come here." The older man pulled his mate close to his chest, planting soft kisses down the human's neck until his lips found Andy's collar bone and fangs lightly sunk in.

Andy audibly moaned, pins and needles dancing across every inch of his skin."

"You good?" Ashley asked, pulling away. Andy nodded and allowed himself to be pulled along behind his mate.

"Whoa, the fuck is happening down here?" Andy asked as the two stumbled around a corner only to be confronted by close to fifty black-robed vampires.

"This is a vampire council, but they're not Deviant."

"They're Canidae," Andy said before he could catch himself.

Ashley turned and looked, shocked, at Andy. "The fuck?"

"Canidae are known for arranged marriages, so they're one of the few high lines I can recognize on sight - the head scarves over their eyes and noses kind of gives it away. Also, I can feel their power."

"You- oh right. Canidae do the mind thing."

Andy raised his eyebrow. "Mind thing? That's what you call it? They can literally link their minds to any other living creatures around them. They're one with creation, with life. It's absolutely fascinating. I've read more about them than any other high line."

Ashley was just standing with his jaw agape. "I mean, I knew you had some knowledge on vampires in general, but knowing this much about such a secretive high line? How is this even possible?"

"Majiks sort of have libraries upon libraries full of information about everything. The book I read on them was so large, it was in twenty separate leather bindings. It's actually one of three copies of an original manuscript of Canidae traditions and rituals."

"And you were allowed to read this?"

Andy just shrugged. "Come on. Let's go find out what's going on before I ask the wrong person the wrong question. That guy right there is probably the safest bet."

The human crossed the room, stepping carefully around the council elders as he made his way to a man with messy dark hair and a wardrobe that would allow him to blend in at Warped tour, but made him stick out like a sore thumb here. "Uhm, hi," Andy started.

"Hello," the man responded with a heavy Finnish accent. "I'm Christus."

"As in Sir Christus. Of Negative, right?" Ashley cut in.

"Uhm, yes. You're a fan?"

"I'd say we're about on the same playing field," Andy responded. "I'm Andy, and this is Ashley. Black Veil Brides."

"Oh, heard of you guys. Weird place to cross paths."

Ashley laughed. "Yes, well. We're curious. Which of my cousins are you set up with?"

It was Christus's turn to laugh. "Well, that's a bit of a complicated matter, but it's less of a set up than you'd think. I'm mating Jonne. Not sure how much you know of his lineage. He was brought up within his mother's high line."

"Pantheraleo?" Andy guessed.

"Uhm, yes. How did you-"

"Arranged bondings between Canidae and Pantheraleo are quite common. Apparently the mind connection of the Canidae and the hunting skills of the Pantheraleo combine quite well to create stronger Canidae."

"Yes, this is true. You're quite well read for one so young. I'm quite surprised." But Christus didn't seem surprised at the fact that Andy even had access to such information.

"Can we go? Too many minds trying to connect are giving me a headache," Andy commented.

"Oh, sorry. Habit," Christus apologized. "I don't think about it so much anymore, but you're right. There's a lot going on in your head, you don't need all of us in there as well."

A few moments later, Andy let out an audible sigh as he felt the other vampires, save one or two elders, disconnect from his mind. "Thank you," Andy said, nodding slightly towards Chirstus.

"That wasn't me. They heard you."

"So," Ashley interrupted, entirely frustrated with how easily they were communicating. "I know this is arranged, but knowing your history with Jonne, is he your true mate?"

"Funny story, actually," Christus started. "No, he isn't. But Larry is. He's my true mate and Jonne's, yet Jonne and I aren't true mates. We are blood compatible, however."

"A triad, then. Exciting. I assume Larry is with Jonne on the other side?"

"Yes. The elders were giving Larry a headache as well, but I'm sure not as bad as you got, Andy. My apologies, again."

"It's fine. I know, it's habit for you."

"How long until you go on?"

"We're first, actually, so only a few more minutes."

Andy's eyes lit up. "May we watch? I'm just curious...and perhaps a bit nervous of my own mating."

Christus seemed almost pleased. "Yes, of course. You should probably go into the council from the upper floors, though. These doors are still sealed."

"Right. Andy, come on." The bassist said his goodbye before pulling his boyfriend along behind him. "What are you thinking? You can't just go around asking those kinds of questions.

"Ash, he was in my head. If there were any ill intent he wouldn't have agreed. A few of the elders are still connected to me. They probably will stay connected until we're entirely out of range, so it may be a while. They have a wide range once a connection is established."

Ashley rolled his eyes. "You know too much."

"I don't know anywhere near enough," the human muttered to himself.

The two finally made their way back to the top of the continuous slope. They let themselves into one of the doors, and Andy gulped.

"I wouldn't worry so much. I'm not going to let you fall," Ashley assured his mate. He took Andy's hand and led him across to one of the benches settled across the top of the council chamber. "The council's over there, and the subject of whatever's going on stays down in the bottom."

The singer glanced around, wide eyed. "I've read and read about vampire councils, seen pictures of council chambers, and none of that even comes close to how it looks in person," he whispered.

The room was old, which you could easily tell based on the Romanesque architecture. The entire room was made from marble - probably hand carved. Red silk curtains hung over every door way as if they were windows, and an ornate red, gold, black, and silver rug stretched across the center of the circular floor several stories below.

"The rug is gorgeous," Andy commented. "I can't wait to get down there just to examine it."

"Not as fun as you think. This room is used for just about everything involving our high line. The carpet has been through some shit. Several hundred years worth of couples have cum on that carpet, children have pissed, shitted, or puked on it during their dedication on their fifth birthday, it's been bled on either in mating ceremonies, child dedication, or all out brawls that came to be settled before the council. It's honestly disgusting. Sure, it's magic so it can't physically get dirty or be stained, but it's still kinda gross."

Andy wrinkled his nose at his boyfriend's revelation.

"Yeah, exactly. Not so great."

A loud ringing filled the room, and the two looked up to see a large bell suspended from the ceiling being pulled on by a rope.

"That's fucking loud," Andy shouted, covering his ears.

Ashley just shushed his boyfriend and pointed down to where the black robed Canidae council was filing through the door on the right side of the council room. As they entered, they each removed their robes, draping them over their arms to reveal large, leathery bat wings and bare chests. Then they took off, flying in widening spirals until they reached the council seats, where they slowly lowered themselves, and replaced their robes before sitting.

Then three men walked in, one from the right - Christus - and the other two from the left door. "The blonde one is Jonne, and the other dark haired man is Larry," Ashley informed the singer.

The council began then, and lasted for hours. Questions were asked, and answered. The elders of the two different high lines quarreled quite a bit. There were two scribes writing as quickly as they possibly could in order to record all of the debates going on at once. The two leading elders were hunched side by side over a long parchment, crossing out and rewriting certain areas.

"What's with the scroll?" Andy asked.

"The mating conditions. I've a feeling they're a little too strict for the Deviant council. We rarely participate in arranged matings, and when we do, it's not so specific. I think there's only been three arranged matings in my generation, and this is one of them. The Canidae are known for being very strict with mating conditions, even limiting what the couple is allowed to do. It's also possible that some parts of the conditions need to be rewritten to include Larry, since they can't ignore the fact that both vampires in question are true mates to him."  
Andy hummed in acknowledgement. He was too busy racking his brain for what little information he had on vampire mating. Sure, he could just ask Ashley, but the singer was far too stubborn to do so. He was so consumed by his thoughts that he hardly noticed when the combined vampire council quieted.

"Babe, you're gonna miss it," Ashley whispered, nudging the singer with his elbow.

Andy snapped to attention, turning his focus to the proceedings of the mating. The vampire elders were currently reading off the agreed upon conditions of the arrangement. After the trio agreed to the conditions, a parchment was presented for them all to sign, then was returned to the elders for the heads of both councils to sign.

"Very well," said one of the Canidae elders. "You may consummate."

Andy turned and raised an eyebrow towards his mate. "Really? Consummate?"

"They're old fashioned. You know the definition," Ashely whispered in a quite sassy voice.

Andy rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the three men in the bottom of the chamber who were now passionately kissing each other and grasping desperately at each others' clothes.

"Do we look like that when we fuck?" Andy thought out loud.

"Probably," Ashley responded with a slight chuckle. "If not worse. You're incredibly handsy."

"Oh, I'M handsy?" Andy sassed.

"Yes, very. It's those long arms of yours. You're quite adept at reaching around, across, over, etc to grab at my ass or junk - not that I'm complaining."

Andy giggled a bit and glanced back down to see the that the three Finnish men had managed to strip each other down to nothing and were now navigating around each other into their own desired sexual positions.

"Funny…Larry's in the middle."

"I don't think it matters who's actually a top or bottom, just as long as Larry's in the middle," Ashley commented.

"Right, because he's the true mate in the equation."

"Exactly," Ashley responded.

The mating process continued. So basically, the three fucked each other senseless until they'd all finally released. Ashley had pointed out to his boyfriend the act that actually cemented the triad together.

"See, there? Larry's got a knife, and Jonne and Christus have their fangs out. Yes, I know you can't see that much. Jonne and Christus can just bite Larry, but Larry's gotta use the knife to break vampire skin. They'll break skin on the wrists. Usually, vampires don't scar, but mating scars never fade. They're a permanent symbol of the blood bond."

Andy quickly filed the information away under "stuff I need to research" and continued to observe the triad that was now messily kissing each other, cuddled up together in an intricate manner that seemed as if it would take hours to untangle them.

"We should go. We need to get down there pretty fast." Ashley stood and took the younger man's hand, leading him through the door just as the council dismissed.

"Ash, is it going to hurt you," Andy asked, stopping suddenly in the narrow walkway.

"Is what going to hurt me?"

"The knife," Andy responded.

Ashley laughed a bit. "No more than biting hurts you."

"Okay..."

"Andy, calm down. I promise this should go over just fine."

The younger man nodded a bit and continued to follow the vampire through the corridor to the entrance to the council.

The bottom of the council chamber was much different than Andy had anticipated. It was much more intimidating than it had been up in the viewing area. From where he was standing now, Andy felt very small, as if he were being scrutinized by the council above. The rug was quite lovely, though.

"I'm right here," Ashley whispered, gently squeezing the younger man's hand. Andy felt just the slightest bit more comfortable after that.

The council was called into order, and suddenly Andy wanted to crawl the fuck out of his skin. The elders were asking way too many questions, more of Ashley than Andy.

"So you would say you know this man fairly well?" A council member asked.

"Well, yes," Ashley responded almost without thinking. "I mean, we've practically lived together for four years, a good portion of that time in incredibly close quarters on a tour bus. You get to know the other person's habits pretty well."

The judges were silent for a moment, passing unimpressed gazes back and forth between each other.

"No," one of them said after a long moment.

"Excuse me," Ashley demanded in shock.

"No. We will not allow you to be mated."


	4. Part 4

"Excuse me," Ashley demanded in shock.

"No. We will not allow you to be mated."

Ashley was bristling. "Why the fuck not?"

"You are not prepared to be bonded to him for life."

"He's my true mate, damnit! Anything that may come up I'll fucking figure out how to handle it!" The bassist was screaming - more to the gods above than the elders themselves.

"There is something important you do not know about your mate. We suggest you two have a nice long talk. If you can get yourselves sorted before the end of the weekend, we shall see about formally mating you. You know the council hours, Ashley. Until then, we suggest you not be seen anywhere near the council chamber. Dismissed."

Ashley turned on his mate, glaring. He grabbed the singer's arm and dragged him from the council room. Before Andy could give more than a protest of "Ash-" the two were out of the underground tunnels and in the woods of Deviant territory.

"Fucking explain," the older man growled.

"Ashley, please calm down."

"What the fuck haven't you told me?"

Andy was close to tears. "I didn't think-"

"Do you understand what just happened? The Deviant council just fucking denied an official bond between a true mate pair. That never fucking happens. Whatever it is you're not telling me, it's fucking huge."

Andy sighed and reached into his pocket for his cellphone.

"What are you doing?" Ashley demanded.

"I'm calling Jinxx."

Ashley was silent, but fuming.

"How soon can you be here," the younger man demanded into the phone. He was silent for a moment before responding. "They denied our mating." Silence again. "No." Silence. "Okay." Andy snapped the phone shut.

"Wanna tell me what the hell is going on," Ashley asked.

"Jinxx will be here in about ten minutes. He was in the middle of fucking Sammi when I called."

"Why do you need Jinxx here and what, exactly, gives you the power to demand him to come when you say?"

"I'll explain as soon as he gets here. Until then, have a drink." Andy pulled his shirt off over his head and offered his shoulder for the vampire.

"No, Andy."

"It'll calm you down."

"I can't. I'm too pissed off I might take too much on accident."

"Suit yourself," Andy responded, shrugging. He turned and sat down on a rock.

"I wouldn't sit there," Ashley started.

The human glanced down to see a set of shackles at his feet. "What the fuck?"

"This is sort of an execution lot. Vampires who aren't pure bread - they're not formed but rather born from a male vampire and a human female outside of a mating bond - are brought here to burn. They're-"

"Bastards. I know. You have to destroy them or they'll create a huge mess." The singer nudged the chains with his toe but was otherwise unfazed. "Ash, I'm sorry."

"Andy..."

"I'm here, asshole. If you would have done this several years ago like I told you to, I wouldn't have to be here. But I'm here," Jinxx announced, materializing from the trees.

"I see you took the root system. Cool. Ash-"

"Jinxx, what the hell you just-"

"It's okay. Andy knows I'm a Mystic."

Ashley was even more dumbfounded, glancing back and forth between his bandmates.

Andy turned his attention directly to Jinxx. "I have permission?"

"You've HAD permission, asshole."

"Just say the fucking words."

Jinxx crossed over to where the younger man was now standing in the middle of the clearing. He grasped Andy's forearm in a handshake and pulled him close to whisper in his ear. "Unbound." The Mystic then retreated back to the tree line.

"Ashley, I need you to listen to me. I'm going to start by apologizing. Jinxx told me I should have done this years ago but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I'm fucking stupid. I didn't know the effect it would have on our relationship. So, I'm sorry for keeping this secret." Andy made sure to look his boyfriend dead in the eyes. "I'm a prophet."

Ashley's features went through several stages of confusion, anger, frustration, acceptance and realization. "It makes sense...the nightmares...how you know things..."

Andy nodded. "My powers were awakened in March after my twelfth birthday. I had a lot of waking visions then because I didn't sleep much. Typical teenage boy shit. I know I just kinda shake my head and write it off as nightmares, but almost all of the dreams I have are vision-dreams."

"How much do you know, exactly," Ashley demanded. "And when did you find out..."

"Well, I knew Sandra was a Vampire about two months into her being in the band. I accidentally cut myself and she disappeared. It didn't take long for the rest of her behaviors to add up. Jake is a Mourner. Sandra actually dragged his ass out of one of those underground cults. You could call it her side job. I've known you were a Vampire since before we met. Sandra gave me a heads up. And as for Jinxx, well I've always known he was a Mystic. He's my Mystic."

"Would it have killed you to tell me this," Ashley demanded.

"No, but I could never really find the right time to bring it up. We were always busy on tour when it would have been easier to do so since Jinxx was always there. Then when we were off I wanted to spend time with you and I know Jinxx wanted to spend time with Sammi so I didn't want to disturb them. I just-"

"Andy, hush," Ashley interrupted, pulling the younger man into his arms.

"O-okay."

"I just need a few minutes to process things, and we need to have a long conversation about the details of all of this. But for right now, just hush and come here." Ashley was gently rubbing his hands up and down Andy's back. His face was tucked into the singer's neck, breathing his scent as his mind raced.

"I'm going back to my wife. You two should be able to handle things from here."

Andy looked up soon enough to see the Mystic fade into the tree he was leaning against.

Ashley tangled his hands into the younger man's hair and pulled his head down, tilting his own head to join their lips. It was only a matter of seconds before the vampire had worked his way into his boyfriend's mouth.

When the kiss finally broke, Andy pulled his face just slightly away from his lover's. "What was that for?"

"I fucking love you," Ashley responded.

"Oh?" Andy asked, raising an eyebrow.

The vampire relaxed his hold around Andy. "Well yes. Of course I love you. I'm just really fucking relieved right now. When the council denied us...I thought it was something bad. Like...really bad. You don't have any idea how relieved I am that you're a Prophet."

"So you really think you can handle all the extra shit that comes with it?"

"Andy," Ashley started, pulling slightly at the singer's waist. "I can handle anything if it means keeping you safe and close to me. That's all that matters," Ashley murmured, pressing a kiss to his mate's bare shoulder.

Andy let out a little hum of acknowledgement. "But you still need to know the details," he insisted without picking his head up off his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Mhh, alright. Let's find somewhere more comfortable to talk. My aunts are enjoying the, er, festivities that are a Deviant family reunion. I doubt they'll be home until later."

"A couch and hot tea does sound nice. And I'm sure you want some blood before you have to drink mine," Andy responded in an indirect agreement.

"Sure thing, baby." Ashley hooked his arm with his boyfriend's and lead him, slowly, back through the woods.

They finally made their way back to the quietly empty house. The old wood creaked with the wind, but the sounds were comforting in the semi-uncomfortable silence between the men.

"Goddamnit, Andy? Do you know if this is chamomile?"

Andy rolled his eyes and wandered through the kitchen out into the dimly lit green house just off the back porch. He took the fist full of leaves from his boyfriend and sniffed them. "Yes, but you use the flowers for tea," the human responded with a sigh.

Ashley let the remainder of the leaves in his hand fall to the ground. "Oh."

"How about you go start the water, and I pick the herbs?"

"Yeah, good idea," Ashley responded. He pressed a soft kiss to Andy's cheek on his way inside.

The younger man sighed again and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting cast by christmas lights strung along the inside of the greenhouse. Then he bent to examine the options of the different herbs, each in their own neat little planter on rows of tables.

"You're kidding me," he muttered to himself as he crossed over to a particularly peculiar plant. He plucked one of the deep red leaves and gave it a sniff. "You're joking," he muttered again. He plucked a few more leaves and moved on, collecting some more chamomile and a few leaves of spearmint.

"Water ready?" Andy asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Yeah, baby," Ashley responded, offhandedly, slowly stirring a small pot of thick red liquid.

Andy turned up his nose at the thick metallic smell. "What are you drinking?" he asked as he dropped his handful of leaves down into the mug his mate had set aside.

"Blood," Ashley responded in a "duh" voice.

"Obviously. I meant what animal," Andy clarified.

"Oh, yeah. Right. You've known...sorry. I'm still adjusting."

Andy placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Baby, look...I know I fucked up and I know this is going to take some getting used to. But I love you, no matter what. I knew what I was getting into when you joined the band. I knew what I was getting into that first time we slept together. That didn't make me leave. Nothing will. I just hope that-"

Ashely leaned forward and pressed his lips hard to the younger man's. His arms wound their way around Andy's small waist, pulling him tight into Ashley's muscled body. "If you're trying to explain yourself, you're doing it all wrong," he whispered against Andy's lips.

"I'm sorry," the younger man responded, gaze casting down.

The exchange was interrupted by the high whistling of the tea kettle. Andy turned his back to Ashley to pull the kettle off the hot eye.

"And it's leopard seal, by the way." Ashley gave a sheepish smile as he turned back to the blood on the stove.

"Interesting. Is it any good?" Andy poured the steaming water over the leaves in his mug.

Ashley took a slow sip, then scrunched up his nose. "It's a bit salty for my taste. Probably because leopard seals live in the ocean. But I can deal," he responded with a shrug.

Andy turned to lean against the counter, cupping the mug of steeping tea in his hands. "I don't know how to go about this..."

"From the beginning?" Ashley suggested.

"The beginning is complicated. How about I start with the simple stuff. Wait here." Andy set his cup down on the counter and took off upstairs.

Ashley started up after him, but sighed and slumped back against the counter when he saw Andy descending with an arm full of notebooks. "What's this?"

"My dream journals." The singer thumped them down on the counter, and Ashley instantly reached for one. "Don't even bother. You won't be able to read them."

The bassist couldn't resist. He reached forward and took one of the journals anyways. "What the fuck?"

"It's the prophet language. It has a name, also in the prophet language. It's complicated because it's not spoken, but the name translates to shared secret. It's how prophets communicate without interference. Prophets automatically write in it, and their - our - minds automatically translate it to our native language. Also, our minds automatically translate any language to our own. We can't speak or write other languages without intensive study, but we can understand them written or spoken."

"Oh my god, your mind is amazing," Ashley breathed, slowly flipping through the pages of illegible vision-dream records.

Andy blushed. "Anyways, there's a lot about Prophets you should be able to read, between my library and Jinxx's. Anything else you need to know, you can always ask."

"How many are there? Like, right now?" Ashley instantly asked.

"Uhm, last I checked, three. Me, a Kenyan man named Salehe, and some old man in Russia who doesn't really count anymore because he's literally just waiting for the last person in his generation to finally die off so he can too."

"That's harsh."

Andy shrugged. "There's one prophet per generation, and they live until the rest of their generation has died. When there's only a few left, we go inactive. We don't have as many visions, and the ones we do have tend to be things that will happen almost immediately, or long, long term ones left as precautions to the younger prophets."

Ashley sighed and settled down on a bar stool. "This is a lot. I just..."

Andy giggled and picked up his tea, slowly sipping the hot liquid. "You'll learn. It took me years to understand things, myself."

"So the teacher?" Ashley started.

"Yes," the singer began, smiling slightly. "My sixth grade English teacher, Mr. Kongts. He was my first Mystic. It was his job to discretely teach me the finer points of being a Prophet - what it all meant, how to handle the visions, etc. He leant me his library, book by book, as research material. I did special projects on different subjects. My sixth grade year, reports on the basics of vampires, Mystics and Luminescents, Mourners and Destroyers, and finally, Prophets. Every report required a source written by someone of that species, a source written by the Canidae, and a past Prophet's journal entry. Every year, things got more in depth. He had me focus two whole years on major vampire high lines alone, then another two years on Mystic and Luminescent customs, laws, culture, and influential families. The next year I focused on Destroyers and Mourners; how they came to be, why they were so persecuted. Then my final year, I was introduced to Angels and Demons."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ashley interrupted. "You actually learned about Angels and Demons?"

Andy sighed. "Yes, but Kongts didn't want me to. Unfortunately, he had no choice. I had started to have my first recurring prophesy."

"Started?"

"Ash...I still have this vision. It was occasional at first...maybe every few years. But it's become more frequent. I get it about monthly now."

"Oh my god..." Ashley set his mug of blood down and buried his hands in his face.

"Yeah, I know. Recurring visions are bad. Very, very bad. This one...well I haven't cracked it yet, but it terrifies me."

"What is it?" The vampire moved his hand to his boyfriend's knee, squeezing it gently.

"A fleet of Angels, maybe thirty? Fifty? I don't know. They're rocketing through the atmosphere, headed towards the earth. They're hissing 'child of the light,' over and over. Then they're crashing into houses, pulling boys from their beds, and discarding them, every time whispering 'not the one.' It goes on for a while, just the same thing over and over. I've been researching for years and I have no idea who this so called 'child of the light,' is, or why the Angels would fall for him."

"Hmm," Ashley mused, deep in thought.

"I know, it's a lot to process. But, I'm here if you have questions." Andy slowly sipped the last bit of his tea, then stood to dump the wilted leaves out the window into the compost pile.

"When will the next prophet be born?" Ashley asked.

Andy shrugged. "I can't answer that question. I don't know who the next prophet will be, much less when he'll be born. However, he will become active when we have our first child."

"He?"

"Most prophets are men," Andy commented. "There have been very few prophetesses. They're rare, and tend to only come along in the midst of major wars, though I don't know exactly why. There are theories, of course. Women are more likely to come into power during wars, because the men are fighting. Also, they're less likely to be killed as a male prophet who, in a major war, would most likely be drafted into the military."

"So you're assuming the next one will also be a guy?" Ashley's eyebrow was arched in his signature "you've got to be kidding me" look.

"Not assuming. Praying. Female prophets are incredibly talented, but they're not a good thing at all."

Ashley shook his head in disbelief.

"Look, it's not that I think a woman unworthy of the position. They just, traditionally, mean bad shit's gonna happen. Like, really bad shit."

The vampire sighed. "Very well."

Andy chuckled. "Come on, Ash. You know better."

"Yes. I do. It's just..."

"Going to take some getting used to. I know. It's a royal pain in the ass, honestly. This always happens. Every time I've gotten close enough to someone to tell them, they end up freaking out and leaving."

"Scout, you mean," Ashley said.

"Yes. Scout. I told her when I was planning on proposing and she got so pissed off at me for keeping it a secret. Then she left and it too Jinxx two months to track her down and force her to swear an oath of secrecy to avoid...problems."

"Problems?"

Andy sighed. "Ashes, why do you think I'm so worried about losing you? Not only do I love you more than anyone else in the world, you're also my best bet at survival. Prophets are persecuted more than any other supernatural minority, even more than Destroyers. Anyone who plans on starting some world changing shit wants us dead so we can't prevent them from doing it. Hitler, Al Qaida, they both fought to find and destroy the living Prophets of the time so that we couldn't hunt them down and find a way to prevent what they were trying to do. And it's not just those two cases, it's every generation that something major has completely changed the way the world functions. Ashley, you're Deviant. That means that I am the most protected Prophet of this timespan. The person I love, my soon to be blood mate, will never, ever let anything happen to me. He's bread to be the most protective creature on the planet. I'm in a healthy relationship where I am loved, supported, and protected. That's all I need in life."

"Got anything else to stroke my ego," Ashley joked.

The human giggled as he stood and climbed straddle his boyfriend's lap. "He also has a big cock and is extremely good in bed," the singer said, bumping Ashley's nose with his own before kissing him.

"Fuck, you're so damn sexy," the vampire whispered in the spare moment he had between kisses. He grabbed the singer's ass and pulled him further into his lap.

The kiss deepened, then Ashley's lips began to trail their way down his boyfriend's neck. Andy found himself quietly groaning and arching his back while grinding his hardening crotch against Ashley's. Andy finally gained enough of a thought process to reach down and push the vampire's shirt up over his head, revealing smooth, tanned skin and that gorgeous OUTLAW tattoo. Then the singer redirected his attention, reaching to pull Ashley's head back with a hand tangled in his hair so he could leave a trail of kisses and nips down his throat.

"Oh, god, you smell so good," Ashley moaned. Andy glanced up to see the vampire's fangs had extended.

Andy giggled. "Yeah, I found some bloodleaf in your aunt's garden."

Ashley shook his head in attempt to clear it. "What?"

"Bloodleaf. It's this plant with red leaves and stems and purple flowers and it heightens a vampire's sex drive, especially if it's in a mate's bloodstream. I was curious to see if it worked, since I've only ever read about it."

"You little devil," Ashley groaned. His hands were already at Andy's waist line, unbuckling his belt as his lips made contact with Andy's chest.

"Fuck, yes, Ash," Andy groaned. He ground his crotch into Ashley's hand as the vampire's teeth sunk into flesh. The singer shivered, groaning slightly as his back arched.

Ashley disconnected from his mate. "Oh, my god. What have I done?"

Andy rolled his shoulders, eyes slightly glazed over with lust. "What do you mean?"

"I bit you," the bassist muttered, backing away.

"Fuck, Ash, stop this. Call me sadistic, but I like it when you bite me. My whole body floods with these sparks, I just...fuck I can't get enough."

"But I could-"  
"For the last fucking time, Ash, you won't. Now come back her so I can give you that blow job I was working towards. You've been under stress and it's time for you to purge."

"Andy-"

"No, Ashley. I'm sick of this. You're so damn worried about biting me and I actually like it. I don't know what you're so upset about! I'm your mate, your true mate. You're supposed to drink my blood regularly in order to establish a strong blood bond. It actually comes down to a safety measure. It's like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant to mark his territory. I'm your territory, so fucking mark me!"

"Andy, you're not my property."

"No, Ashley. I'm your mate. Which is even more reason for my blood, my smell, to be in your veins. I want everyone at this damn reunion to know that you are loyal to me, and that you shamelessly love me, even though I'm human."

Ashley sighed. "Then you should have my blood in your veins as well. Come on. We'll finish this in the council chamber." Ashley grabbed Andy's shirt from where it had been tossed on the table on their way in the door, and threw it at the human. Then he pulled his own shirt back over his head, grabbed his boyfriend by the arm, and dragged him out the door.

"Do we have time?" Andy asked, struggling to keep pace and breath as he chased after the vampire.

"I fucking hope so. I don't want to go another day without being bonded to you."


	5. Part 5

"Ashley, I see you and your human are back. I do hope you've settled things," one of the elders chided.

Ashley sighed. "Yes, we have. We had a long talk and I know that he's a-" The Vampire frowned, then turned to his mate. "Why can't I say it?"

Andy snickered. "Because not everyone in this room knows. The Canidae all know, but that's because they were in my head. They're strong allies to...us, though. Their libraries even house almost all of our texts."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Very well, then. I know what he was keeping from me."

"And you forgave him." It wasn't a question the Canidae woman had asked. Though she didn't have to ask, she could see into both men's minds. She knew. Both men nodded in response, only to get a slight chuckle out of the elder. One of the Deviant elders cleared his throat, only to get a stern gaze from the Canidae. There was a shift in tension, but it dissipated within seconds.

With a resigned sigh, the Deviant elder leaned over the edge to look into Ashley's eyes. "You love this man?"

Ashley subconsciously pulled his boyfriend tight to his side. "Yes, more than anything."

"Well, then, I suppose we have no choice. You may be mated."

"Thank you," Ashley sighed.

"One request," Andy started. The elders all raised their eyes at the human's gusto, but he didn't back off. "Would the Canidae elders kindly get out of my head? It's kind of awkward to, you know, have sex when there are other people sharing the, er, experience."

The Canidae woman chuckled, and suddenly, Andy was alone with his thoughts. "Thank you," he breathed.

"Alright. You may consummate," the elder finally said.

Andy jumped at the sound of the heavy wood door in the side of the chamber opening. Then his hand was gently squeezed by Ashley before the Vampire crossed the chamber and took a shining gold knife from the young woman's hands. He kissed her on the cheek before she slipped back through the door.

"I'll just set this aside," Ashley said, quietly, to his soon to be mate. "We won't need it for a bit."

Andy nodded, nervously, and watched as the Vampire set the knife down near the edge of the chamber, then he crossed over and took both of the singers hands in his own. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready since I met you," Andy responded. He pulled his hands from Ashley's grip and wrapped his arms around the older man's neck. Then their lips connected and it was an all out battle for dominance between their tongues.

There were a few long moments of them just standing and grasping and kissing before Ashley finally gained dominance and lifted the taller man up into his arms. From the angle that Andy was wrapped around him, the vampire could feel a bulge against his stomach. The older man's lips disconnected from Andy's, and began trailing down his neck.

"Hold on to me," the vampire whispered before lowering to the ground on his knees. He laid Andy down on his back and resumed kissing him, a hand trailing up the inside of the younger man's shirt to push it off. Then his lips trailed over the newly exposed porcelain skin.

"Ash, yes!" the older man groaned with his lover's lips latched onto his nipple. Ashley reveled in how the flesh hardened into a tight nub between his teeth as he pulled. Andy reached down to fist his hands in the back of Ashley's Jack Daniel's tee, pulling it up between his shoulders. The vampire released his tortuous hold on his boyfriend to slide the rest of the way out of the shirt.

Andy squirmed under his boyfriend. "Touch me, Ash," he begged in a breathless voice. The younger man was so lust crazed, and Ashley honestly couldn't blame him. He wanted to have him, now. But he had to pace himself just to make sure he wouldn't hurt the scrawny human. Ashley finally gave in and nuzzled his face into Andy's crotch. The keening sigh of pleasure he got in return was more than rewarding.

The vampire clamped his teeth down on the zipper of Andy's fly, the metallic taste flooding his mouth as he dragged it, slowly, down, and reached up with one hand to unbutton the top of the tight black jeans. Then he hooked his fingers into the waistband of both Andy's jeans and boxer briefs, sliding them down the human's long legs until they were free of the coarse denim.

"Ash, stop teasing!" Andy whined as the older man kissed his way up the inside of one thigh and down the other, pausing to breathe a puff of hot air against the singer's straining cock but never touching it. Ashley stilled for a long moment, inhaling his mate's scent and listening to the sound of blood rushing towards Andy's flush, hard dick.

"Tell me what you want, baby," Ashley whispered, knowing his breath would skim across the sensitive flesh just inches from his lips.

"You," Andy gasped. "Your mouth, your fingers, your cock, I don't care just you." The singer's voice was a broken moan, already sounding fucked out even though his lover had yet to touch him.

"Okay, baby. I'm right here. You can have all you want." Ashley licked his way up Andy's cock and then took it all the way down. The singer's hips pumped up in pleasure, his back arching and a low, long moan escaping his lips. His hands instinctively found their way to Ashley's hair, fisting in the straight black tangle and using that purchase to steer his lover's head up and down his cock.

"Oh, fuck, Ash," Andy called. His dick was throbbing and the bassist's mouth felt so good, hot and wet and tight. But something was missing. "Your fangs," Andy begged. "I wanna feel your fangs."

Ashley distantly considered arguing, but he knew it was pointless. He was fighting so hard to hold them back. Andy's cock was hot and heavy in his mouth, flush and hard, and the vampire could hear and feel the blood pulsing through it. And his mate was begging. Ashley couldn't tell Andy 'no' anymore. His fangs extended with a soft click and his eyes flared the slightest bit brighter in lust.

"Oh, my god, Ashley, yes!" Andy screamed. The vampire had dropped his head all the way down, fangs grazing against sensitive skin and throat closing around the head. Ashley hummed against his boyfriend's hard cock before sliding back up, fangs scraping again, tongue swirling around the tip.

"So close," the singer gasped. Ashley pulled off of his lover's cock with a slight pop. He nuzzled his lips lightly against Andy's balls, then traced soft kitten licks up the underside of his dick. When the singer started swearing, Ashley completely changed tactics. He fisted a hand around the younger man's dick, and pumped him while sucking on his balls. The feeling of fangs just barely scraping against the skin was driving Andy insane. Then he felt the tip of a familiar tongue tracing around his entrance. Within moments, Andy was swearing and cumming all over Ashley's hand and his own stomach.

Ashley licked his boyfriend's dick clean, moving his cum covered fingers down to press against the singer's puckered entrance. "Relax for me, babe," Ashley asked softly, knowing his boyfriend's muscles would still be clenched until the aftershocks of his orgasm slacked off. Andy forced himself to loosen his muscles, allowing the bassist's calloused fingers to slide in.

"Oh, yes," the singer groaned in his deep, melodic voice. He inched himself down further onto his mate's fingers, wanting to feel him hard and deep. His muscles fluttered just the slightest bit, then he switched back to begging. "Ash, please," he whimpered. "Need more. Need you in me. Fuck." The prophet's words were abruptly cut off as a loud moan forced its way from the back of his throat.

"I've had two years to map out your body," Ashley began, leaning down close to his mate to whisper in his ear. "I'll be damned if I don't take advantage of every." Ashley nipped at the singer's ear. "Little." He trailed his lips slowly down Andy's neck. "Spot."

Andy screamed in pleasure. The back of his eyelids lit with stars. Ashley had hit that spot and, fuck, he hit it just right, several times over in rapid succession. "God damnit, Ashley, just fuck me already!"

The vampire pulled his fingers out of Andy's ass, wincing, slightly, at the whimper he released. "Andy," he said, softly yet sternly.

"Please, I need you in me," Andy whimpered, breath still ragged and eyes still closed.

"Andy," Ashley said, this time a bit louder.

The singer found his lover's eyes. "I hate it when your voice gets serious," he whispered.

Ashley kissed the human, softly. "It's time, love." The statement was barely audible, but it was enough. Andy nodded and reached up for the knife laying a bit away.

The singer took a moment to admire the blade. Shimmering, with a gold handle and double edged length. Then he pulled Ashley's hand towards himself and laid the sharpened edge to his lover's wrist.

"Go on," Ashley encouraged after Andy's long pause of hesitation. "It won't hurt me."

Andy nodded a bit, closed his eyes tight, and pulled the blade, wincing slightly at the soft dragging noise it made in the silence of the council chamber.

Ashley's eyes glowed faintly in lust. He pushed it aside, though, to reach for the knife as it fell from his lover's shaking hands. "Babe, babe, it's alright." The vampire lightly brushed the ebony hair from Andy's face.

"Bite me," the singer gasped.

"Andy…"

"Fuck, Ashley, just do it. I need it. Need you." The scrawny man lunged in and somehow managed to find his lover's mouth with his own. He wrapped himself around Ashley once more, grinding his taut ass down against the vampire's hard cock. "I need your cock in me and your fangs in me and just fuck…" The singer's whimpers trailed out into a melodious little groan.

"Sure, baby. Anything you want," Ashley whispered. He lined himself up to his lover and slowly pressed in, revelling in the low moan and soft arch the singer produced.

"Blood," Andy gasped, much to his own surprise. "Need your blood."

Ashley moaned in pleasure just at the thought. He lifted his wrist to Andy's lips, lightly cupping the back of the singer's head as that perfect tongue lightly lapped across the skin. He thrust up into his lover, letting go of him just for a moment to hold the younger man's skinny wrist to his own lips. He slowly pushed Andy back down against the soft carpet, then sunk his teeth into the porcelain flesh.

"Oh fuck, Ashe!" the singer groaned. He bucked his hips up against Ashley's cock, forcing the older man deeper into himself. "Oh, need you...so bad."

Ashley wrapped his arms around the scrawny man, thrusting into him harder and faster. "You have me, baby." He nuzzled soft kisses into Andy's hair. "You'll always have me."

The vampire kissed every inch of his human he could get to. He kept his thrusts hard and deliberate, loving how Andy's body arched up to meet him. He would occasionally brush his fingers or lips across one of the soft, supple hot buttons that he'd mapped out all over the singer's body so long ago. There was no denying that he didn't know his mate. There was no denying that Andy wasn't his mate.

"Mine, mine, mine," Andy whimpered, pulling at Ashley's hair.

"Yeah, baby, all yours," Ashley responded. His words were barely whispers, meant only for the wriggling man beneath him. As were the soft kisses tucked behind ears and trailed down his neck.

Ashley adjusted slightly so that he could stroke his lover's hard, leaking cock. He gripped and eased his hand up and down in tandem with his own thrusts into the smaller man. In response, Andy just whimpered in pleasure and bucked against Ashley some more. Both men were close. They didn't need to tell each other.

"Please," Andy gasped out. He dug his nails into the vampire's shoulders, trying to hang on. "Need you to - FUCK!" The singer's plea was cut off as release wracked through him. His body arched and stilled a moment, clenching down on Ashley.

The vampire gasped. "Fuck, baby, so tight," he murmured. A few thrusts later, and he reached his climax as well, seed shooting deep into his lover. He couldn't resist the urge to sink his fangs into Andy's shoulder, drawing forth a deep groan of pleasure from his mate.

After a few long moments, clinging to each other as orgasm pulsed through them both, Ashley collapsed, resting his forehead on the younger man's bony shoulder. They both gasped for breath, Andy's hands lightly falling to rest in Ashley's hair.

"I love you so much," Ashley whispered, pressing soft kisses to the pale flesh under him.

The human chuckled slightly. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this story is done but if you wanna keep up with it, follow the FANGS series, not this story because I won't be updating this part any further. Also feel free to comment down below. I would love to hear some constructive feedback from you guys! Thanks!


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